Throw back on a Saturday Afternoon

Going through my facebook albums and I look at My Journey album because a post from Chicked Nation page inquired if there were any transformation stories. 

When I look at my pictures, I counted back and realized since 2011, I was on a roller coaster journey. I have to share that if I didn't join a boot camp class (SOHI Fitness) that kicked my butt and challenged me, I probably would have become complacent again but my trainer's concept was no excuses. 

So, here is a throw back of my journey that I hope will inspire you in some way to be healthier and go further than you ever imagined. 

August 2013 was my first OCR race ever. I was already on a journey to be fit since 2012 but not really putting in any effort until accomplishing that Spartan Race in Aug 2013 woke me up again because I barely trained for that race. This not only woke me up to be healthy but to be a better person overall. I cleaned up my eating and started learning about workouts and what it means to be healthy. I started signing up for running events to keep me on my toes till the next Spartan Race (March 2014 and August 2014). Within one year, I completed 13 races (Spartan Super and Beast being my last two), which included my first marathon and a half marathon. It may not seem like much to an avid runner but I never did this much races ever. I never was an athlete in high school. I had 4 kids right after high school. My heaviest was 217 and now I'm 160. Am I faster? No, I'm still a slow runner/walker just enjoying the race / health journey. As of today, I'm training for my 2nd marathon, half-marathon and upcoming Spartan Races in 2015.

Figuring out what works for you

A week before the Hapalua Marathon, I wrote about the glorious pains of cramping that was affecting my running and working out. It was getting to me mentally and physically to where I started giving up mentally. However, I still asked around for any tips to prevent cramping because I knew that I was doing everything wrong from nutrition to preparing for the race.

Am I the only one that knows what they should be doing but doesn't apply it until the last minute? Well, since then, I've been in three races, so I'll give you a breakdown of what I noticed in each run until the Spartan Race in August because it's growth (as always).

Hapalua Half-Marathon

I taped up with KT tape, loaded up on the energy gels, bottled water but I also decided to try mustard packets. Unfortunately, I didn't try Oral IV because there is only one distributor on island! However, the mustard packets only worked up to a certain point to where I also ran into one of those ABC stores along Waikiki and bought bananas. Let me just say that although I made it in a little over two hours, the last stretch of the mile, I ran stiffly and slowly because the cramps were slowly seizing my calves. Talk about frustration because I walked a quarter of mile back to my hotel. This meant back to the drawing board of figuring out what I needed to do to prevent cramping for the Makahiki Challenge in May 2014 and Spartan Race (August 2014)

Makahiki Challenge

 

 

As you can see, I taped again with KT tape and brought along some mustard packets and Clif Gel Bloks because it was a 5k mud run that I decided to walk with my daughter because she refused to run while everyone else ran along. One thing I love about the obstacle course racing fun mud run events, is that the course is still challenging with hills and the obstacles are optional for beginners like my daughter. Because the hills were challenging, I made use of the mustard packets but it was to a bare minimum. Hydration was a must because it was humid until it started raining in the valley. This helped a lot in keeping cool. However, there was something new that I wanted to try, which was dynamic taping that my sister's physical therapy office used on her calves.

 

Spartan Race Hawaii Trifecta Weekend

 

Prior to this race, I was in a funk. I didn't want to train. I didn't even want to run. I actually felt like I burned myself out because I never did sign up for this much races as I did from August 2013 to August 2014. Mentally, I kind of wanted to run but physically I was drained. Partly from work because we are on mandatory overtime but whenever I reached home from work, I didn't want to lace up regardless if my husband tried to encourage me. As the big day was approaching, I started dreading it because I didn't train as should have nor was I eating as I should have! I cursed myself because this was the race that I was to have been training for all year. This was part of my fitness bucket list to earn a trifecta medal because who would have thought that I could? So, back to the drawing board of preparing for a Spartan Race and I needed to be serious about it. Here is a breakdown of what was the same and what was different as well as the outcomes:

 

Clothing / Taping

• Under Armour (I didn't change anything except that I used a bikini bottom under my race clothes). I used their heat gear line, which is light and gives me the room of moving around without dragging me down.
• Vibrams MR Sprydion: This was an "upgrade" from their original line. I was actually looking for different type of shoes to use but there were several that I tried and found that my feet were hurting. I figured since my feet didn't hurt on my trail runs when I used my vibrams, I might as well as use vibrams (if it's not broken, why fix it, right?)
• Camelbak Rim Runner 22: I bought this because I wanted to at least have something that carried 3L especially because I gauged my finishing times to be over 7 hours for the Beast and 5-6 hours for the Super. Another thing great about this pack is that it had other compartments where you could store your food and other essentials. This pack is recommended for activity that lasts more than 3 hours.
• Dynamic Tape: Helleeerrr...wish I knew about this tape before KT tape because this tape was amazing. And I have to think it's probably because I had a trained professional tape me up with this tape. I'll brag about this tape by sharing that if you ever decide to use Dynamic Tape instead of KT tape...you'll question if you put any effort into your races because considering that I did a race that totaled a marathon distance over mountains and hills AND I was barely training, I would have been dying but nope, I had the expected soreness the next day but by the second day, I had minimal soreness.

Energy / Fuel

• Peanut butter sandwiches: On the facebook page, Chicked Nation (formerly known as Spartan Chicked), one of the ladies recommended it. Glad I listened to her!)
• Bananas: Peel these suckers...if you buy apple bananas, it's better especially because it's smaller. I also placed these in ziploc bags
• Clif Crunchy Peanut Butter Bar: Much needed and highly recommended
• Granola Bars: If you're carrying clif bars, you won't need to bring these. It's up to you
• Clif Shot Bloks (strawberry flavored): I was glad I brought these because at one point on the trail on both days, I craved something sweet and kept thinking of shave ice (or snow cones to mainlanders). I popped one in my mouth and it satisfied my craving on the trail.

Hydration

• Oral IV: Let me just say that the heavens opened up and the angels started singing as I packed several vials because for ONCE I was actually listening to advice regarding hydration. Let me just say that I didn't cramp at all on BOTH Saturday AND Sunday. Keep in mind that I was on course for about 7 hours for the Beast and about 4 hours for the Super.

Hindsight/Reflection

 

I honestly wished that I bought Oral IV for the Hapalua half-marathon because Oral IV worked wonders. I kid you not. I was nervous because I NEVER used this product before and you know how it is a no-no that you don't try anything new on race day but I took a chance! I followed the instructions of taking at least 30 minutes prior to race time and I also took another vial about 3-4 hours into the race because it was an endurance race.

 

My choice of using Under Armour, I don't think I will sway from it especially because the shorts did not ride up and I did not chaff at all. My vibrams is another that I will not sway from when it comes to obstacle course racing because it gave me the freedom to move through the mud pits and this upgraded line worked pretty well on the obstacles. There was no slipping off like I did with the previous vibrams!

 

Overall, this blog post is sharing with you what I found worked for me and the fact that I need to listen to the advice given to me especially if they are from other racers who is familiar with what can happen in a race.

 

I hope this helps you especially if you are aiming to do an obstacle course race or any running event.

 

 

 

 



 

 



4 of 9: Another Turkey Trot...North Shore Style

After signing up for the Turkey Trot at Kaneohe MCBH, I also noticed another run that looked interesting because I noticed it was on Thanksgiving Day.

See, at my household for our traditional Thanksgiving Day is that while I'm preparing the food, my husband and his friends from church will boogieboard (bodyboard) and return just in time to help with the carving of the turkey and eating. It's been like this for the past 15 years but I figured this year, I wanted to change it. Actually, I've been wanting to do this since last year because I never knew about turkey trots until I seen one of my friend's post last year.

Since I am a beginning runner, I didn't want to choose a time for a 10 miler! Plus, I've been paranoid about injuring myself before the Honolulu Marathon AND the Spartan Race. Anyhow, enters in the North Shore 5K Kawela Bay run presented by Oakley. When I noticed it was only a 5K and it was a trail run around Turtle Bay Resort / Kawela Bay, I was game. The price was reasonable as all other runs are for a 5K.

Our race packet pick-up was the day prior and on race day. Now, I have a confession to make before I go any further with this blog post. Ever since I've started on this fitness journey especially with training for the Spartan Race in mind, I have a thing for race shirts and race bibs. In all honesty, in my previous races when I really didn't take my health seriously or appreciated the races, it didn't dawn on me to hold on to my race bib or t-shirts (I wish I kept my 2002? 2003? and 2012 Great Aloha Run race bib and my 2012 Ford Island Bridge Run race bib!!!).

From the Spartan Race back in August, I've started to keep my race bibs and cutting my race shirts to muscle-T workout shirts that I can use while I run or workout. Well, I figured this turkey trot 5K was going to be the same but I was wrong. The t-shirt was already a workout shirt that I absolutely LOVED.

After picking up my race packet, I decided to stroll to the poolside because the race information shared that this would be the starting and finishing point for the 5K. It was a beautiful afternoon as you can see (NOTE: Why do people want to swim in the pool when there is a beautiful ocean right there beckoning to you?).

 

Evenings in Hawaii gets dark quickly around 6:00 and I decided it was best to head on back to the southwest side of the island because it was about an hour drive.

 

Since, I knew it would be an hour drive back home, I started planning on what time I would get up to head on out to North Shore. I knew there wouldn't be traffic except for the surfers and bodyboards who goes out on dawn patrol. After Thanksgiving service at church, I prepped all my stuff for the next day and went to be bed early.

Got up around 4:00am and left the house around 4:45am. Reached Pupukea around 5:30am and figured I better stop and eat a bagel to get my stomach settled because the run started at 7:30. I reached Turtle Bay Resort around 6:00am and sat in my car for awhile. As it got lighter, I decided to stretch out my legs for awhile by walking around.

One of the beautiful things about Hawaii and you're by the beach is watching the surfers paddle out. Seriously, you can't go wrong with this type of view.

Earlier that morning, it was raining and at first, it didn't seem like it would let up but the rain let up and the morning air was cool.

As I walked around to the poolside of the resort, more runners started trickling in to get themselves settled and ready for the morning run.






It was great seeing the enthusiasm of other runners especially the ones who was aimed to winning the best turkey trot costume. This group of individuals were nice enough to keep still as many of us asked if we could take a picture of them.

The announcer gave updates on how the race would start and where it would loop around. They also shared that there would be prizes for the different age groups and for best costumes. They then announced that men would go first and women would follow a minute after. This caught me off-guard but all right (not like I wanted to start sprinting). One thing I noticed though was that couples chose to run with eachother despite the lineup, which the men stayed next to their wife or girlfriend. How nice is that?

 

We first looped around the hotel, which I regretted using my vibram sprydion. I made a mental note that I could have used my running shoes for this run. But, as soon as we hit the trail after the golf course, I was glad that I wore my vibrams because some areas were muddy and sandy. As I ran back towards the resort, we passed the stables to our right, which I held my breath because I didn't want to start gagging at the smell of manure (weakling, I tell you).

 

As I reached the curve to head to the finish line at the pool, there were other runners cheering everyone coming in. I love it! Right after the finish line, there was volunteer waiting to give us our turkey leg that smelled heavenly but all I wanted to do was head on home to check on the turkey that my daughter placed in the roaster oven for me. As I drove away, I couldn't help but smile because the best thing about this 5K run was my timing. From January of this year to present, I improved my pace from 21 minutes down to 14 minutes. Granted, this may be slow to some but as I shared on my Instagram account...Slow progress IS progress.

¡Dos Mas! Two more added before the Spartan Race 2014

My posts will be confusing by the numbers because I just added two more runs to the list that I posted previously. First, I added the Turkey Trot at Kaneohe MCBH but I also decided to add the North Shore 5K at Turtle Bay / Kawela Bay "Turkey Trot" run.

 

 

 Not only did I add those runs, but I am now registered for the Neon Vibe as my first run of 2014 because my cousins decided it would be a great fun run to do as a family after I shared about the runs I've been doing because of my training for the upcoming Spartan Race.

 

So, what's adding two more runs before the Spartan Race in 2014? To other runners and sports enthusiasts, it's probably no big deal. In fact, I am pretty sure there are more seasoned runners and sports enthusiasts who have signed up for more runs than I have throughout a 12 month period.

But, as I shared in my previous posts...this is a first for me. This is the most runs I've ever done and God willing, I'm looking forward to many more.

 

(North Shore 5k Kawela Bay photo courtesy of www.oakridgevisitor.com)

(Neon Vibe photo courtesy of North Shore Kawela Bay facebook page)

(Running Quotes photo courtesy of http://extrememarathonguide.com)

 

 

2 of 8: Dawn of the Dead Dash (Training for the Spartan Race)

 

THREE runs in November and I'm laughing at myself because seriously, what am I thinking? Can't I just train without signing up for additional races?

Well, I could do that but here is my reasoning of signing up for races in between now to the Spartan Race. It keeps me consistent on staying with my training for the Spartan. See, I'm trying to maintain and right now this is my plan of action. A nutty plan of action but I have to do what I believe I need to do that will help me be prepared.

Anyhow! This is my 2nd race of November and it's a fun run, of course. I signed up in August or September when someone posted this race as an upcoming event. I figured it would be fun considering it was at night. 

However, we would not know where it was going to be held until the week of the event. We were emailed that race packet (bib and shirt) was to be picked up at Lulu's in Waikiki (Our headquarters for the race) the day before and on the day of the event. I chose to go the day before, so I can redesign my shirt.

We were given instructions that our starting point was Kapiolani Park bandstand along with signing a waiver that we would not hold them liable if we got injured on course because no roads were closed because it was an urban event. This made me think what if those zombies looked hideous and scarey like those characters from Haunted Plantation? Can you imagine how scared all of us would be? I know I would be! Dan decided to stay in the car and just watch everyone run around like crazy as I got out of the car when it was 7:00pm (meeting/briefing began at 7:15pm). As I got closer to the bandstand, I noticed that there wasn't that much people at first AND the participants that was roaming around was around my kids age. I honestly thought that I would be the only old lady running around with a bunch of kids.

 

 

But, as 7:15pm approached, I was happy to see that were people who were older than me showing up in costumes or running gear. I was relieved!

 

When 7:15pm came around, all the participants stood around looking at eachother wondering who was going to distribute the glow collars as well as give us instructions. The lady at Lulu's showed up with an assistant who started distributing the collars. Right after we all placed the collar around our neck, she laid out the rules:

 

1) We will be given a code to enter onto their website that will give us our first checkpoint. *At each checkpoint, there will be a code that will give us the location of the next checkpoints (there were three in all with headquarters as the last place to show up).

2) No cheating-if we die, we die. And when we die, we enter the code number of being dead. Once dead, we turn into zombies and will have to chase other runners to get their glow collars. And we could not tag from the front. We had to tag from the back.

3) No hitting or slapping the zombies

4) Have fun-after all, it was only a 5k and it wasn't for time.

 

After the rules, she gave us our code. Talk about a mad scramble because as soon as we entered the code, the google map showed up and it pointed to our first checkpoint. Majority of us ran across the road to get as far away from the zombies.

 

Of course, you see the picture below me. First, it shows that we are cleared to start running. After the first checkpoint and catching our breath, we could also post on Twitter or Facebook what we were up to in our run.

 

I was killed by the little girl in this picture because I was trying to run away from her zombie mom! Boo! But, I entered in my dead code and decided to run the rest of the course, which was hilarious because the third checkpoint was difficult since the zombies were surrounding the area that had the code for all the runners that weren't infected yet.

 

After running to the third checkpoint, I ran back to Lulu's Waikiki, where I was able to take pictures with the little girl zombies.



If you never did do a zombie fun run, try it. It's hilarious because it's like playing tag at night and it's a FUN RUN. However, I would recommend that you run with a group of friends or family because it makes it more hilarious and memorable especially when a particular checkpoint is surrounded by zombies and you'll eye eachother up wondering who will be the one that will have to sacrifice themselves for the rest of you to make it through the checkpoint.